Original Entry: March 3, 2008
McMinnville, OR
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
The other day I heard someone ranting that the reason the public schools are in such bad condition (I did not know they were) is that we have removed prayer from them. Fist of all, this is not exactly true as long as prayer is initiated by a teen he or she can pray whenever he or she wants.
First, let’s address the alleged issue in the public schools. To say that there is a problem with public schools is pretty general, but it is also taking a huge leap especially for parents who choose not to use them. I would ask, “How do you know they are bad? Does your child attend a public school? Can you show me a survey or study proving the detriment of a public school education versus private, home school, or other? Are private or home school graduates further ahead than their counter parts in public schools?”
I am not against any form of secondary education but feel compelled to push back whenever I hear such general statements.
Regarding prayer in school I will always disagree with the statement that taking prayer out of schools has hurt them, countering that making prayer illegal would be a great opportunity for believers to be challenged in their faith. When faith becomes illegal trials, persecutions and suffering are around the corner, which we rarely see in America.
I think back to the middle school teacher that told James that he couldn’t have an insert in his binder reading, “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Instead of taking it out, he rallied dozens of friends to fly the same colors and proceeded to go to the vice principal, who happened to be a believer, and overturned the teacher’s ruling.
It was a great moment of victory for James.
I think back to the past January as we brought Oreo cookies to Colton’s class to celebrate his spiritual birthday (the day he accepted Christ). The entire class sang the birthday song in celebration of Colton giving his life to Christ- in the public school. I am telling you the truth! The school was actually more concerned about the cookies being sealed than what they represented!
All this is to say that men do not grow out of comfort, but conflict. I would prefer that Christianity were illegal to practice in America so that believers would be challenged to put their life on the line instead of their mouth on the microphone. In this passage we can infer that the word “trials” (2) is synonymous to the “testing of your faith” (3).
A trial then is essentially a testing.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13).
James 1:13-14 confirms that “God cannot be tempted by evil and He Himself does not tempt anyone but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”
So what did Jesus mean in the Lord’s Prayer?
According to William Barkley Jesus meant believers to pray, “When I am tested do not let my faith be tempted towards evil.” In other words, “Lord, protect my faith during periods of testing.”
A man puts his faith tot the test. He is not afraid to stretch himself.
David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” Psalm 139:23.
Test your faith today by sharing your faith story with a co-worker or a boss. Or, start a Bible study at work. Bu a stranger a coffee and tell them it is because you follow Jesus. Do something. Take a risk.
We live in a comfortable world but men rise up to step out of their comfort zone. Take initiative. Take on a challenge. Invite conflict and testing into your life.
You may get ridiculed, fired or worse.
So what?
